Windows 8 Tips Part 13 – Four Ways To Close Windows 8 Apps

One of the first things I hear people asking after working with Windows 8 for a while is how to close Windows 8 style applications. Keeping in mind that Windows 8 has been designed so that you don’t have to close a Windows 8 style application, sometimes you might need to. Well, as it turns out, there are 4 methods to do this. Windows 8 is after all, the Windows we all know and love.

Alt+F4

If you have a keyboard, hitting Alt+F4 will immediately close your Windows 8 application. This shortcut has been around for all modern version of Windows and should be old hat for most Windows users.

Drag Down

Moving your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, you will see the cursor change to a hand. Now click and drag the app down to the taskbar, release the mouse button and the app will close. This is obviously more intuitive on a tablet because that is a standard gesture.

Close via Thumbnail

If you move your mouse to the top left corner of your screen, the thumbnail of the last used application will be displayed. Moving the cursor down will display all currently running applications. Simply right click the app you wish to close and this will bring up the close context menu. Click on that to close the app.

Windows Task Manager

If all else fails… Ctrl-Shift-Esc will come to the rescue because that shortcut opens up the Task Manager. From here you can end any currently running application.

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Dirk is a Software Developer and Microsoft MVP from South Africa. He loves all things Technology and is slightly addicted to Twitter and Jimi Hendrix. Apart from writing code, he also enjoys writing human readable articles. "I love sharing knowledge and connecting with people from around the world. It's the diversity that makes life so beautiful." Dirk feels very strongly that pizza is simply not complete without Tabasco, that you can never have too much garlic, and that cooking the perfect steak is an art he has yet to master.